


hiraeth

by shiminari



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-07-08 08:30:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19866574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiminari/pseuds/shiminari
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke were childhood best friends. Both had lost their parents at a young age and bonded over this fact. They made a place in the world for themselves and were unhealthily dependent on each other until one day they weren't.Fast forward half a decade. They haven't seen each other since they were pre-teens, and now both were about to graduate high school. They have an unplanned reunion when their high schools merge and Sasuke sees Naruto by chance. Now, it's them trying to understand each other and understand how they now fit in each other's lives in the present day.





	1. one

Sasuke sat on the edge of his twin size mattress, a controller in his hand and his best friend to his left. His midnight black eyes were hyper-focused on the old TV screen in front of the two of them while some Sublime played quietly off to the side. Beside him, a pair of sky blue eyes also appeared glued to the screen but weren't paying as much attention. An uncomfortable silence between the two filled the air. Usually, the two never shut up together but today was different. Something was clearly the matter but Sasuke had no clue what it could be. And even though the two were best friends, Sasuke would never be the one to just come out and ask if something was wrong. It just wasn't who he was. So instead, he'd distract him with the video game until Naruto wanted to open up.

A cool breeze came in through the window, carefully pushing the navy colored curtains apart and chilling them. A flash on the screen appeared as the game was paused and Sasuke felt the bed sink as Naruto crawled over and closed the window, his rusty orange colored sweatpants popping out against the black bedsheets.

"Damn, it's cold out, even for me. Wouldn't you say, Sas?" Naruto asked as he crawled back to his spot, picking his overused controller up and unpausing the game.

"You're just trying to distract me because I'm in the lead and you're about to lose," Sasuke replied.

"I'm just not on my A-game and you know it!" Naruto frowned, furrowing his brow as he mashed the trigger. "If it were any other day, I'd be sweeping the floor."

"Sure," Sasuke replied, even though he knew it wasn't true. They were about equally matched when it came to video games, but Naruto was having an off day. When Sasuke had casually mentioned it earlier, Naruto had just shrugged it off and said that it was nothing but Sasuke wasn't an idiot; something was bothering him, something he didn't want to share with Sasuke.

The two played in silence, a few words spoken here and there, the sounds of the video game coming through the TV speakers and filling the space where words wouldn't. Sasuke didn't even enjoy playing against Naruto like this but didn't know what else to do. If they stopped playing the game then they'd most likely be forced to deal with their feelings. Or rather, Naruto's feelings. And since he wasn't in the mood the two just kept playing.

After about half an hour of this, there was a knock on Sasuke's bedroom door. The game paused once more as Sasuke made his way to the off white door, barely opening it.

"Yes?"

"It's six o'clock. Will Naruto be staying for dinner with us, or will I be driving him home now?"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto who simply shrugged in response, out of sight of Itachi. Might as well let the boy eat then. "He's staying for dinner then going home. Is uncle having dinner with us, or is he still at work?"

"He's still at work, so it will only be the three of us. Now, stop playing your games and both of you come down and eat," Itachi replied before walking downstairs, leaving the two alone.

"What's for dinner?" Naruto asked as he set his controller down, stretching out on Sasuke's bed.

"I'm not sure; let's go find out," Sasuke replied, searching for any clue as to what was wrong with Naruto. If he still had his appetite, he couldn't be all that upset, could he?

The three ate together and then rode in Itachi's car to Naruto's foster home. It was a dingy little blue house with foster parents who didn't particularly care for Naruto as much as they should. They never wanted to do things like eat dinner together or go out and see a movie. Sasuke argued that they shouldn't be parents in that case. Naruto agreed but left it at that. After all, if he complained or objected they would quickly find out about it and could make his life a living hell.

Sasuke's assumption of the foster system was that it was filled with people who genuinely cared and wanted to help children. However, some people were simply good actors and were just in it for things like the money. All of Naruto's clothes were secondhand and even though he quickly outgrew all of them, it would be ages before he actually got new ones. There were subtle signs that he was being neglected, but not big enough red flags that he was taken away and sent to a different family. Sasuke asked if anyone noticed this, ever, but Naruto would always just shrug and say who cares. He had a roof over his head and food to eat.

Instead of moping in sadness, however, he tried getting out of the house as much as possible. So, every day you could find him with Sasuke instead. The Uchiha's treated him like their own and he was grateful for it. Sasuke and he only had each other to begin with, so it made sense that they invaded each other's lives until there was nothing left to hide.

Although Sasuke had a family, it wasn't complete. It consisted of Itachi and their uncle Madara. Their parents had passed away from a car accident when Sasuke was roughly seven, and in their wills, they entrusted both Itachi and Sasuke to Madara. He was hesitant to take on the two boys; after all, he never had kids of his own. He was an intimidating businessman who ruled the house with utmost precision and pride. He was an intense man who took a while to get used to.

The transition was rough at the beginning for a multitude of reasons, but both Uchiha boys pulled through and made their way into their uncle's heart. Now, the three lived under the same roof with strict rules and regulations on their lives. But the two were happy nonetheless. Whenever he felt mad at his uncle or upset with his situation, Sasuke always managed to remind himself of Naruto and what he had to deal with and was grateful he didn't end up in his shoes.

* * *

"In your mother and father's wills, they both put down for you to go to your godfather should anything ever happen to you. This is him. His name is Jiraiya, and he's your godfather."

Naruto sat in his uncomfortable plastic chair as he looked over to the white-haired man. Godfather? It was an odd title seeing as how Naruto and his parents weren't religious in the first place. Naruto thought for a moment. Didn't someone have to be baptized or something like that to qualify for a godfather? Or did he have it wrong? Regardless of the whole godfather title and the confusion surrounding it, he was never mentioned before so why was he showing up out of nowhere? He looked to be about middle-aged, a slight smile on his face as he made eye contact with Naruto.

"Hey, kid. I know this is probably weird. But to tell you the truth, I didn't even know you existed until recently. The second I found out I was the godfather of Minato and Kushina's son I tried my best to reach out and make my way down here." Jiraiya apologized, as he scratched the back of his head. "If I knew you were out here, I would have claimed you the second I could years ago when everything went down. I can't tell you sorry enough."

Naruto gave him another look over. It was hard to say his emotions, exactly. He never knew either of his parents and yet here was his godfather. They appointed him to be it so that must mean something; his parents trusted the man enough to the point that they thought he was good enough to be his guardian. So Naruto should as well, right?

"You knew my parents?" Naruto asked eventually, breaking the silence in the room.

Jiraiya nodded before replying, "Yes, I did. Minato was a student of sorts of mine and I got to know Kushina when the two began dating. I was off on my own business when I heard that the two passed away. No one ever informed me that they had a son. At the same time though, I was so detached from society it was hard to reach me in the first place."

Naruto frowned at the mention of his parents. He looked over at the social worker and then back at Jiraiya, confused. "So, uh... what does this mean?"

"Well legally, a godparent doesn't have any rights. It says in their wills that you were supposed to go to him and legally become his son or something to that effect, but since he wasn't in contact you're under your foster parents and the state right now. We'll have to sit down with your parents as well as the legal system and decide what happens next. Unless they agree to it... from my knowledge, you won't go to him." Naruto's social worker explained.

"To add to the chaos, I'm always moving around," Jiraiya laughed sheepishly. "That's not good for someone like you who's in school. But I'd do anything for you, kid, even if I don't end up becoming your guardian. Minato and Kushina entrusted you to me." Jiraiya paused for a moment before his eyes softened as he made eye contact with Naruto before he told him gently, "I need to make sure that they can rest easy knowing that you're okay because I'm here now."


	2. two

The start of a new school year meant different things for people. For some like Suigetsu, it meant more parties and more hookups. For those like Juugo, it meant all the hours he had put into training and working out would be shown off on the fields of all his games; football to be specific. For Karin, it meant she'd get to see Sasuke all hours of the day assuming that the two had classes together, which they typically did. And for Sasuke... well, it just meant another year to excel at.

AP classes, a few clubs here and there, perfect attendance, so on and so forth. These were all things that he strived to be good at and he was. He was on the path to becoming valedictorian, or just about. He didn't particularly like the pompous, asshole ego that came with being it, but then again, he was a bit of a pompous asshole so if the shoe fits then so be it.

This year would be different, however. More people. More competition. More... everything. Konoha, for the past sixty years or so, had been divided into East and West Konoha due to the immense number of people living there. Sasuke went to East Konoha High, but now it didn't exist, technically. The two schools would merge and become one, simply named Konoha High School. A new high school building had been under construction for years and years with top of the line everything, and it was finally open to the public. East and West Konoha High would both become either new middle schools or elementary schools, due to the fact the current ones were overrun because of a growing population. More and more people flocked to Konoha, and more and more established a new life with new families due to the security and stability that it provided everyone.

Now, 4,000 students or so would be under the same roof, or roofs. The new buildings were so enormous that it was overwhelming, and the breaks between classes would be at least ten minutes to get from class to class. Sasuke wasn't nervous about the whole ordeal. Rather, he was curious to see if there was anyone from West Konoha High to rival his accomplishments and give him a challenge for once. Public high school wasn't exactly challenging. However, he didn't want to enroll at the private school located near his house due to the fact it cost nearly ten grand a year and he never really knew how much money his uncle made. He was sure that they could afford it, but in the off chance they couldn't, he wouldn't want his brother and uncle breaking the bank just so Sasuke could get a slightly better education.

Sasuke walked through the main entrance of Konoha High School for the first time, taking it all in. Fresh, fresh paint. Newly waxed floors made up of off white square tiles with little specks of color embedded in them. Rich mahogany-colored lockers lined the walls on either side. The smell of construction lingered, although Sasuke couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

"Woah man, look at all this," Suigetsu gaped as they walked through the hallways, a tidal wave of students surrounding the four. "This place looks rad as hell."

"The fields outside aren't so bad either," Juugo commented, nodding his head. He was a giant among all of the students, and almost no one rivaled his height. It made it easy to always find him, which was a blessing and a curse. This made everyone stare him down as they usually did.

"But there are so many girls here!" Karin said, annoyed, as she glanced back and forth. Girls on either side were glancing at Sasuke; whispers were barely heard among the commotion of everyone but were still obvious enough. "Sasuke isn't theirs!"

"Nor am I anyone's," Sasuke replied slightly annoyed. Despite no actual interest in her, Karin was overly possessive of Sasuke at all times and wasn't even subtle about it, to begin with. He didn't hate it but at the same time didn't enjoy it. It was a mild annoyance but it wasn't as if he could get rid of her now. After all, they had been friends since... when Naruto left.

Naruto, Sasuke briefly thought. I wonder where you even are now.

When Sasuke and Naruto got into their last fight, Sasuke didn't expect it to be the end of their friendship by any stretch of the imagination. He just thought it was a dumb fight that got too out of hand. Their voices got too loud too quickly. There was an underlying issue that wasn't addressed and just added to the tension. Looking back on it now, he could barely even remember what it was about. They were barely out of elementary school, for god's sake. How bad could it have been?

Long gone were the days when his bed was sunken down in two places while the two played video games. When Sasuke's room would be cluttered with take-out boxes and soda cans. When Naruto would show up with his ratty, typically orange clothing that Sasuke complained about time and time again. "Who even wears orange?" Sasuke had asked Naruto, which had prompted a response of "Don't be upset because I look good in color and you don't." Sasuke couldn't even object to that; his entire wardrobe ranged from white to black with greys in-between to fill the gaps.

Sasuke wanted to sit on his twin-sized bed again with him. To fall asleep while playing video games. To wake up only to find Naruto passed out as well, the controller still in his hand. To eat breakfast, which was always an ordeal with Naruto. This was due to A) Naruto could never just eat cereal and be happy with it. It was eggs, bacon, toast, sometimes pancakes, a meal fit for a real family and B) The kid could vacuum down food at an unbelievable rate.

Sasuke always joked that his foster home didn't actually feed him, but Naruto just shrugged and would always reply, "Food's always better with friends."

After Naruto left, things were different. Sasuke had given his old TV and PS2 to Goodwill after he realized Naruto truly wasn't coming back after about half a year or so. His room felt empty without the two, and so he rearranged his furniture to fill the gap. He didn't have much to begin with so it had been difficult, but he managed. And that was his mantra, so to speak. He didn't try to dwell on Naruto; instead, he simply managed to deal with the aftermath of it all. It was as if Naruto had fallen off the face of the Earth and for all Sasuke knew, he did.

Every other aspect of his life had changed. He ate breakfast alone, and at dinner, no one talked except for the occasional questions such as "How's school?" or "How's work"?. The Uchiha's weren't social creatures by any stretch of the imagination, so with Naruto out the picture talk dragged to a screeching halt. He had filled in the gaps and fueled the entire conversation in the first place and it showed once he left.

Sasuke had zero friends seeing as how he could tolerate no one but Naruto, which was ironic considering how polar opposite their personalities were. Sasuke was still surprised that they even were friends in the first place. For god's sake, Naruto was always loud and had nothing but a smile constantly plastered on his face. Sasuke rarely spoke and smiled about three times a year. But when they were the two who had lost the most out of anyone it was easy to see how it all happened.

Itachi had asked him a few times about it. "Where's Naruto?" he wanted to know the first time Sasuke came home alone. He sat at the kitchen table with a book spread out in front of him, a legal yellow notepad to his right as he jotted down a few quick notes. Itachi tried to play the cool big brother role but especially after losing their parents he had turned into somewhat of a mother hen. Because of this Sasuke was used to somewhat invasive, vaguely personal questions but this one rubbed him the wrong way.

"Don't know, don't care," Sasuke responded as he started walking upstairs to his bedroom. He had no time to answer a question as stupid as that. Naruto ruined everything, and Sasuke sure as hell wasn't apologizing when it wasn't even his fault. He wasn't even going to try and waste his time being mad at the idiot.

Itachi frowned slightly before asking, "Why so hostile?"

"He isn't here. I'm going to my room now." Sasuke answered, annoyed. Itachi asked a few more times before giving up and just pushing the issue to the back of his mind. After all, at that point in his life, Itachi was about to graduate high school and had more important things to think about, such as college. He in no way neglected Sasuke, but couldn't balance being a full-time parent to his younger brother while also being a full-time student as well as working whenever he could.

And so Naruto disappeared from Sasuke's life almost overnight. Shortly after their fight, Naruto was pulled from school. At the time, Sasuke had thought something along the lines of, "Good riddance.". Later on, he became remorseful and began to miss his best friend, but there was no way to contact him and he doubted that Naruto would contact him. There was nothing to do, however, except for move on.

That's when Sasuke slowly became acquaintances with Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo once he got to middle school. None of them were Naruto but maybe that was for the best. Together the four moved along their educational path, from middle school to high school, now entering their senior year at Konoha High. They weren't his first choice, but they weren't bad by any means. Just mildly annoying from time to time and nothing more.

Suigetsu and Sasuke now parted from Juugo and Karin, the two boys making their way to their homeroom on the third floor of the building. The school would be having two assemblies. One for the lower classmen and one for the upperclassmen. The upperclassmen got chosen to go first, so they'd take attendance at homeroom and make their way down to the new auditorium. It'd be hard trying to have all four sit next to each other with so many people, so if Karin and Juugo managed to get to where Sasuke and Suigetsu were, good for them. In a room with nearly 2,000 kids, it seemed impossible.

After taking attendance the thirty or so kids in homeroom began the march down the staircase and down the long, wide halls to the auditorium. Sasuke got elbowed and stepped on more times than he'd like and shot whoever did it a death glare. He couldn't blame them though; it was packed to the brim and no one knew their way through the school except faculty.

They miraculously made it to the auditorium which had tall ceilings and too many lights. Sasuke and Suigetsu snagged some seats near the back, higher up than most. Karin and Juugo were nowhere in sight, as to be expected. Sasuke barely scanned for them as the seats around them filled up quickly; kids just kept pouring in, more and more walking through the doorway and trying to find a seat.

"Alright, settle down, settle down. If you can't find a seat, there are plenty of rows open near the front," the vice-principal instructed over the speakers, standing at the center of the stage with the black microphone in his right hand. "I'll only be giving a small introduction and then hand it over to the principal, so please stop talking now so we can start."

The crowd stopped talking, and the vice principal started talking about how it was so great to be in such a large facility with so many resources and so many great people all under the same roof. That they should all be grateful to be attending such a great place; after all, they had spent millions upon millions constructing the place and furnishing it. It was top of the line everything, and the school would be paving the way for how schools in the future would be operating. He went on to say how he expected the best from everyone and that if anyone needed anything, large or small, his door was always open.

Sasuke heard none of this.

Three rows down and four seats to his right, a pink-haired girl sat telling a boy to shut up or else. The boy grinned at her before whispering something along the lines of, "Who cares?". The faded scars on his cheeks moved and stretched as he laughed and talked. Stupid blond hair spiked up paired with stupid sky blue eyes.

Naruto.

Sasuke's mouth was agape as he stared him down. There was no mistaking him; his blond hair was still the same and his blue eyes looked more mature but still, they were the same. And the scars on his cheeks had gotten more faded but hadn't disappeared from sight. Sasuke wanted to jump out of his seat right there and then. He wanted the world to stop so he could just talk to his friend again. For all he knew, the world only consisted of the two in that very moment. He couldn't hear anyone speaking, couldn't see anyone but Naruto. He wanted this damn assembly to be over so he could go up to him and say everything that was on his mind, everything that had been on his mind for the past five years.

Instead, Sasuke had to sit through possibly the worst assembly of his entire life. Naruto never noticed Sasuke staring him down. Sasuke counted down the seconds to the assembly ending, getting more and more impatient. He felt like he was about to explode if he couldn't open his mouth and just say Naruto's name.

Sasuke should have been listening to the assembly but every time he tuned in and tried focusing on it the words jumbled in his mind. He couldn't focus on anything that was being said and it gave him a headache just trying to listen. He felt like screaming as he burned alive with impatience just watching Naruto whisper from time to time to the people around him. He wanted to be sitting next to him. He wanted to hear what was on his mind even if it was something so insignificant like what he ate for breakfast, or what class he had next. He wanted to be close enough to breathe in his familiar scent of Irish soap and discount shampoo. The thought alone made the back of his throat burn and Sasuke swore he could almost smell it.

If there's a god out there, he's laughing at me. Sasuke thought to himself, scowling. And if there is a god out there, I'm going to murder him.

Would Naruto even want to talk to Sasuke? They ended things on bad terms and never contacted each other again. Sasuke's excuse was valid, seeing as how he didn't have a clue as to where Naruto went. Naruto, on the other hand, had the home phone. The number never changed. It still ended with 7531 and Naruto had known it by heart. If he really wanted to talk then they would have by then.

Sasuke's head flooded with possibilities, but he couldn't know what really happened unless he talked to the idiot.

Eventually, the assembly wrapped up; it had taken nearly twenty minutes. Twenty minutes that felt like hours. Sasuke got up with everyone else, keeping a careful eye on Naruto. Sasuke's row was one of the first to exit but he knew he'd just stand outside the doorway and catch him on the way out. This couldn't wait.

"Hey man, why are you dragging your feet?" Suigetsu asked, tilting his head to get a better look at Sasuke. "And what the hell are you even looking at?"

Sasuke snapped out of it, turning back to look at Suigetsu. "Nothing. I was just looking around," he brushed the comment to the side as he picked up the pace, falling in line with everyone else.

"Whatever you say, man," Suigetsu shrugged as they neared the exit. "Anyways, did you see the girl two down from you? She was smoking. She was checking you out for most of the assembly, so can you do me a favor and introduce me to her? You don't care about her, do you? I mean..."

Suigetsu's voice was tuned out of Sasuke's mind as he looked over his shoulder again. They were crossing the doorframe; he just had to stand off to the side and he'd be able to catch Naruto on the way out, assuming that he went out the same exit or one near it. As he stepped into an alcove, he heard a teacher speak to him.

"Please go back to homeroom with your class," she told Sasuke, pointing to the crowd of kids leaving.

"I'm just waiting for a friend, he'll be out in a second," Sasuke replied.

"We can't have you doing that. If we do it for one, we have to do it for everyone. Please get going," she told him sternly, crossing her arms against a pastel blouse. Sasuke looked in disbelief at her, before getting furious.

He stood up straighter, taking a step towards her. "Are you kidding me?"

She clearly seemed startled by this, glancing around to find another teacher. "This is your last warning," she replied, unsure of herself. Understandably so, since Sasuke was more than intimidating with his piercing black eyes and tall stature. It would make anyone nervous.

It was then that Suigetsu came back, putting his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "Hey, the next time you go off to do whatever, mind telling me? I was talking to myself for a while there."

"Get off," Sasuke shrugged his arm off, before taking one last glance at the teacher. He knew he wouldn't be able to wait for Naruto, so his next best bet was... what? Hope he saw him again? He silently cursed, before walking off with Suigetsu, listening to him drone on. Naruto and he wouldn't have classes together; Sasuke was in AP, and Naruto was most likely just getting good enough grades to pass a class, based off of his behavior in elementary school.

On top of that, there weren't even that many classes to take at this point. It was senior year; everyone was finishing up what they had to. East Konoha had students taking a good number of required classes, such as English, Math, Science, History. But their senior year they were free to do almost whatever they wanted. Sasuke's schedule consisted of AP History, AP Physics, Honors Humanities, Calculus, and finally, gym. Naruto wouldn't be in any of those.

Sasuke kept looking over his shoulder as he walked away but was unable to find his blond idiot.


	3. three

"How was school, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was in the middle of removing his black flat tennis shoes in the mudroom. Earlier, he had stayed lingering outside of the high school waiting to see Naruto before realizing it was pointless and he was just wasting his time. 4,000 kids, and Sasuke wanted to find just one? Yeah right. Like that would ever happen. Naruto could have already left or stayed after school. Anything could have happened and odds were he wasn't going to be there.

Sasuke shrugged, but something in his facial expression gave it away. "Something happened today. You can't fool these eyes," Itachi told him giving him a gentle, patient smile. "So what was it?"

Sasuke crossed his arms knowing he couldn't hide the fact he saw Naruto, in the flesh, at school. Itachi loved Naruto like a little brother as well, always willing to take the two out to the store, the movies, bowling, or whatever else they wanted. Uncle Madara was somewhat neutral about Naruto, but seemed to enjoy his presence as much as he enjoyed Sasuke and Itachi. It wasn't saying too much, but it wasn't saying nothing.

"We had an assembly today." Sasuke started, deciding to reveal it slowly. He wasn't known particularly for being dramatic but it was fun to mess with Itachi and he rarely got the opportunity to in the first place. It would be his best gotcha! moment yet. Even if he didn't want to drag this out or mess with Itachi, this wasn't news that someone could just spring on another.

Itachi looked at him curiously. "The whole school fit inside one room?"

"No, the upperclassmen fit inside the auditorium, but barely."

Itachi nodded before asking, "Alright, so did anything happen at the assembly? Did someone on stage say something that upset you? I would expect it to just be a welcome back to school type of deal."

Sasuke bit the inside of his mouth before answering, "I barely heard what the vice principal or principal said. When it was first starting up, I briefly scanned the rows in front of me." He paused, unsure of how to really phrase it.

"Sasuke, what's the matter?" Itachi's eyes softened as he noted the deliberate way in which Sasuke chose all of his words.

"As I scanned the rows in front of me looking for Karin and Juugo, I heard someone speak up and scold someone else. I looked in their direction and I saw a pink haired girl scolding a boy. When I took a closer look I... I realized that it was Naruto."

Itachi stiffened at the mention of him, his eyes widening. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. He was sitting with the girl and a few other friends and barely shut up the entire time. I know it was him, though." As if Sasuke had to add the last line; he would have been able to tell it was Naruto no matter what. "He was too far away for me to say anything or to get his attention. He didn't see me, either."

"Did you manage to talk to him at all?" Itachi asked, concerned. The space between his brows started to crease as he looked at Sasuke. He had no idea what had really gone down when Naruto left; Sasuke would never actually open up about it. All Itachi knew was that one day, the two were best friends spending every second they possibly could together, and the next, Sasuke wouldn't even say his name anymore.

Sasuke sighed. "I tried standing near the doorway and waiting for him but a teacher told me I couldn't do that and warned me to leave and just go back to homeroom so I didn't mess up the foot traffic. I tried sticking around as long as I could but I didn't see him. I doubt I'll ever see him again with so many people at school."

Itachi was quiet for a moment, pondering. He motioned for Sasuke to come closer, and when he did, Itachi poked him gently in the forehead with two fingers, smiling. "Well, you know that he still exists and goes to the same school as you. I'm sure that everything will work out fine. If you saw him once, you'll see him again."

The younger of the two rubbed his forehead, but didn't object to anything. He would see Naruto again. It was just a matter of time.

* * *

Naruto was nowhere in fucking sight.

All five of his classes? Filled with obnoxious smart asses Sasuke could tolerate, except for gym since that was simply a general education requirement. But Naruto wasn't in gym. His lunches? He scanned the massive cafeteria time and time again, but could never find him, nor the pink haired girl he talked to. His drive home? Naruto either left early, later, walked home some other way or parked in a different lot, assuming he had a car.

Sasuke was at his rope's end trying to find the damn blond. He was agitated beyond belief. How could he not find him? At this point, it was driving him crazy to the point he was losing sleep, tossing and turning as thoughts swarmed his mind. He snapped at Itachi once already over the whole ordeal. Itachi asked if Sasuke had any luck so far and Sasuke whipped around only to tell him it was none of his concern and Sasuke would tell him of any new news.

Let it be known that Sasuke was not a clingy person. He needed space. More space than most. Uchiha's were notorious for being cold, closed off, and distant. The few girlfriends Sasuke had were too much, asking for too much: hand holding, kisses, typical PDA. He shut them down quick due to how clingy they were.

However, the search for Naruto was not Sasuke being clingy. He just wanted to find his friend, but it was proving to be just about impossible. Itachi asked for updates every day even after Sasuke snapped but there was nothing to say, really. He would give Sasuke advice on where to maybe find him. At this point, Sasuke was getting ready to barge into the main office himself and get on the speaker to tell Naruto to get down to the office.

He didn't bother telling his other friends what was going on, which lead to a bit of suspicion in the group. Every lunch Sasuke would mindlessly eat as his eyes searched and picked through every table trying to single out the blond. He was tempted to ask someone if they saw a blond kid with scars on his cheeks, but doubted anyone would be able to help him.

"What're you looking for, man?" Suigetsu wanted to know at lunch. "Seriously. You just won't stop glancing around. You've been doing this the past like, three lunches. What are you doing? You're acting real fuckin' weird."

Sasuke turned to look at him, before replying, "Does it matter? I'm just looking around. Am I not allowed to?"

"It doesn't seem like you're just 'looking around'," Suigetsu put looking around in air quotes as he said it. "You seem intent on something, and you won't even talk to us. We should be grateful we all have the same lunch, after all,"

"Agreed," Juugo replied. There were three different lunch waves, so it had been a miracle all four were in the same one: first lunch, meaning at 11:30 they had the luxury of eating. It was the most desired lunch, and many teachers pried for it.

"I'm just glancing around. I think you're looking too much into it," Sasuke rolled his eyes, before everyone dropped it.

Was it normal to be this obsessed with something like re-finding a friend? Where was the line drawn? Sasuke knew he was putting too much thought and effort into this, but couldn't help it.

On Friday, Sasuke's day ended with gym. His gym class met once a week, and allocated a day for health class. It was supposed to be a treat for the seniors so that they could have a study hall twice a week at least. Plus, no one expected much of seniors to begin with so it worked out pretty well. Sasuke stood in some black sweats and a dark blue tee, dribbling a basketball by himself. The class was a joke, really, but he didn't mind it.

"Alright, put the basketballs back on the racks. If anyone has a question, ask now; I have to meet with a student in my office after class, so make it quick." Their gym teacher instructed them. A few people went over to ask about the homework assignment for health, but Sasuke quickly made his way to the locker room, peeling off his clothes and putting his regular clothes on. Gym he had at the end of the day, so if he really wanted, he could just go home in sweats. But if Uncle Madara saw that... it'd be an ordeal.

Lucky for him, he had about nothing to do after school. He'd most likely study for a few upcoming quizzes, then go relax, unless his friends wanted to do something. It was Friday, after all.

He swung his backpack over his left shoulder, walking past the rows upon rows of lockers. Freedom was his, or at least would be as soon as he took a step outside the building. He passed the water fountain and water bottle refiller that was conveniently built inside the locker room and then finally passed by his gym teacher's office.

And that's about where he stopped walking.

"So you have a study hall sixth period?" Sasuke heard his teacher ask another student.

"Yeah, I do. Sixth, seventh, eighth. I'd really like to take it this period during sixth," another voice responded. It wasn't all too deep, but gritty and ragged. Sasuke recognized it in an instance.

Naruto.

He was in the office, a mere six feet away from Sasuke. There was nothing stopping him from just walking in there now and dragging him out.

Sasuke listened into their conversation more as his classmates left, giving him a bit of a weird look as he did so. Was he waiting for someone? He couldn't possibly be. Juugo and Suigetsu both had gym in the morning, and Karin had it in the middle of the day. So why was he just... standing there?

"Well, I just have to sign a few papers and then you can take it to guidance so they can register you for this. Just make sure you hand it in soon," his teacher instructed Naruto. "The add/drop period for classes is ending next week."

"I'm going to be in this class? You'll let me?" Naruto asked, excited, the same puppy dog way he used to get when Sasuke would tell him things like they'd be going out to eat, or they'd be going to the movies. He could practically see his blue eyes light up with excitement. "Thanks so much!"

Sasuke decided to wait outside the door to the locker room and confront Naruto as he walked out. Most of his class was gone, but there were still a few stragglers and he didn't want anyone to overhear what he was about to say. Even the hallways were a dangerous place to talk due to the fact anyone could be around the corner, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

He looked at his watch. Both Itachi and Uncle Madara were out of the house, and wouldn't notice if he was late. Even if they did, he could simply shrug it off and say he was out with Suigetsu. They didn't particularly like him but made no further comments.

Sasuke's heart pounded. It was unbelievable how nervous he was as he stood, back pressed against some tan colored walls. The palms of his hands were disgustingly wet, and he quickly wiped them off on his pants. More of his classmates left the locker room, meaning at this point it was just about Naruto and the teacher in there.

The door opened and Sasuke's breath hitched as Naruto walked out, right past him. Some black pants. A black hoodie with an orange shirt underneath it. His rusty orange backpack over his shoulder. He looked... decent. Better than he did when they were kids. Was someone actually caring for him, dressing him and feeding him? Naruto's previous families weren't awful, but far from great. Who was caring for him now?

All this went through Sasuke's mind in a near instant. The next, he was pinning Naruto against a wall, nearly slamming him while doing so. Naruto's big blue eyes widened as his back hit the wall, then widened even more when he looked at who was doing this.

"...Sasuke?"

Sasuke's mind nearly overloaded with the number of things he wanted to say. He couldn't form an actual sentence as his brain short circuited. Naruto's scent had changed and was no longer pure Irish soap, but now the smell of some scented deodorant infested Sasuke's nose. His blue eyes seemed startled and yet comforted at the same time. He wasn't some scrawny kid anymore, either; he was almost taller than Sasuke and probably as jacked as he was.

"Um, hello? Sasuke? Are you gonna say anything?"

Sasuke snapped back to reality and noticed how Naruto simply stood there, waiting for his best friend to come to his senses. Sasuke had gotten lost trying to take in all the details of Naruto. Really, he was just scared he would lose him again in an instance and wanted to memorize it all before someone could snatch him from him again.

"We need to talk." Sasuke eventually said as he took a step back.

Naruto looked at him with an emotion Sasuke couldn't describe. Guilt? Relief? It seemed so mixed he couldn't decipher it.

"I have a lot of questions," Sasuke told Naruto. "And I'm not letting you go until you answer every last one of them."

"Shoot."

* * *

The two walked outside in silence. They both understood that they wanted no one to overhear their conversation so anywhere on school grounds was immediately off limits. It wasn't as if anything they were about to say was bad, per se. It was simply that who knows who would be listening. Sasuke would be mortified if any tidbit of his personal life got out into the public due to the fact he kept a low of a profile as possible. Naruto on the other hand just didn't care for gossip, and didn't want anyone talking about his life.

"Would you rather take my car or walk around town?" Sasuke asked, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Naruto was in the flesh and he was talking to him. The words came out stiff and robotic with no real emotion in them, but he couldn't help it. He felt so detached from his body and from reality with the adrenaline rush he was getting from speaking to his best friend that he had no earthly idea on how to cope with it.

"Walk around town. I'd rather not be trapped in a car with you when we talk cause who knows what you'd end up doing to me," Naruto joked. This statement just made Sasuke even more curious, however. Was he hiding something? Was he guilty of something?

And so the two dropped off their belongings in Sasuke's trunk before walking away from the school and towards the inner city. It was quiet except for the sounds of cars passing by and a few insects flying around here and there. Sasuke swore if he listened closely enough that he could hear his own heart beat with anxiety as he struggled to think of what question to ask first. When the school was barely out of sight, he turned to Naruto and simply asked, "Where did you go?"

This was it. This was the question that had been on the tip of his tongue for five years now. The fact he would finally be getting a genuine answer from Naruto himself was surreal. He always thought about what happened to Naruto. Had he gotten taken by another foster family? Had he gotten adopted? Did he transfer schools? Any of these could have been a possibility. Sasuke's mind usually didn't wander to more serious topics such as kidnapping or death since it would have been plastered all over the news... and also he searched him in databases from time to time. But nothing really ever came up. It was such a simple question but the answer meant everything to Sasuke.

"After our fight I was just at home a lot. I didn't have anyone else to hang out with so I just usually stayed in my room or found something to distract me. Then one day I got pulled into some office with social services," Naruto began. "I knew that something was going on and I knew about it for a while. My parents at the time hinted at it and mentioned it over and over again, that something was happening with me but would never give me any details. Honestly at the time I was just anxious that they would be getting rid of me and that I would end up leaving Konoha because of it. I thought they were done with me for whatever reason but that wasn't the case. When I got to the office they sat me down and explained to me that they found my godfather and he was reaching out to claim me."

"Godfather?" Sasuke echoed. "You never mentioned having one. The only people that you ever mentioned were your parents and that was it. I thought your grandparents all already perished as well as any aunts or uncles. If your parents left wills that entrusted you to your godfather then where was he when you first went into the system?"

"Yeah, I never mentioned him and that's cause I had no fucking clue I had one either. No one ever told me a thing until suddenly this old perverted man showed up and whisked me away. He said he was always traveling and usually detached from society, so that's why no one could ever reach him. His name's Jiraiya by the way," Naruto replied. "It was really just a matter of not being able to contact him. But I guess they never really stopped trying because he showed up. A decade late, but still."

"And so he claimed you. What happened next?"

Naruto paused to think for a moment before answering, "Like I said, he traveled a lot and wasn't just going to give up entirely that just because of me. Well, I phrased that wrong. He asked me if I was okay with it and I said why not. I didn't really have much here to begin with, y'know?"

You had me, Sasuke thought, but didn't dare say it out loud. This wasn't the time for guilt tripping. He knew what kind of emotional turmoil Naruto was probably in when Jiraiya entered his life. He saw what the anxiety from it did alone. To find out there was someone who loved and cared for him and would have for years must have been soul crushing. 

"So I went all over the place with him! I transfered schools way too many times and he kinda got in trouble for always pulling me from place to place. But it was really fun. I met so many people along the way and got to experience so much it was crazy. I'm like a well seasoned traveler now," Naruto grinned.

Sasuke pondered this before asking, "Then why come back? When did you even come back?"

Naruto's face dropped a bit as he grasped the back of his neck, scratching it gently. "Jiraiya asked me if I wanted to come back and graduate here since this is where I spent the most time growing up. He said it was really only right. So, in May I came back and started going to West Konoha."

"Ah. I went to East Konoha."

Naruto looked over, saddened. "Yeah, I had a feeling. I looked for you everywhere. Looks like you don't really have much of a reputation, though, cause whenever I asked about you by name people said they had no idea who you were even though it's the same town."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sasuke noted. "So why didn't you reach out to call me or stop by my house at any point? You've been back for nearly five months and I had to track you down myself."

"You were looking for me...?" Naruto asked slowly before realizing it to be true. Sasuke silently cursed himself as Naruto began to burst out laughing. "You saw me and you knew I was here, and you, Sasuke Uchiha, spent your oh-so-precious time to look for me?" Naruto seemed delighted by this fact as he teased Sasuke. "Come on, there's no way that's true Sas."

"You're not going to get me to admit it, so I don't know why you'd even bother making fun of me about it." Sasuke replied, but his mind was somewhere else. His heart twinged with such happiness with the way that Naruto was talking to him, even going as far as slipping into old habits and calling him Sas. It seemed all too easy and as happy as Sasuke was, he was still upset. "You didn't answer my question, though."

"Oh." Naruto stopped laughing before getting visibly uncomfortable. "It's just... I left with us on bad terms. I didn't know how to say goodbye or if you even wanted to hear it to begin with so I just left. When Jiraiya said we could come back I was happy but at the same time... I don't know, man. You're not the most forgiving person. I was just nervous that I would come back and try to be friends with you and you would just ask me why the hell I was there and shoo me away. I was kinda scared that you would reject me." Naruto paused, collecting his thoughts as he did so. "Plus, I didn't know how to go about it. I wanted to run up to you and act like we were twelve again. But we aren't. We're both about to graduate and start our lives or whatever. I don't know what type of person you turned into once I left. For all I know you absolutely hated me and never wanted to see me again."

Sasuke took all this in, and it was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Why not just ask me how I felt then?"

"Like you'd give me a straight answer!" Naruto laughed. "You've rarely if ever talked about your emotions, dude. Come on. Just imagine if I came up to you after like five or six years and asked if you hated me. What would you do?"

Sasuke didn't have an answer right away because he had a point. Even now, Sasuke was unsure of how he felt. He didn't particularly hate Naruto, but was mostly vaguely annoyed with him. But most of all he felt as though he wanted to forgive him and move on past this all.

"You're quiet cause I'm right. Anyway, I'm right here Sas. We have all the time in the world. I don't gotta be anywhere and I'm assuming that you don't either. So what else do you wanna talk about?" Naruto asked Sasuke as he looked over with his familiar big blue eyes. Sasuke's own piercing black eyes stared back at them, softening ever so slightly. They had barely scratched the surface of everything that had happened and he was about to get filled in on years worth of information. There was only one answer, really.

"Everything."


	4. four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no update, huh fellas?
> 
> writing this fanfic is always so much fun and so relaxing whenever I can actually get into it. i've detailed a lot of plot so this will be very plot-driven as opposed to emotion-driven, the way that ethereal is. due to this, chapters are a bit more intense to write and feel more intimidating... but I think they're a lot better written since I'm extra careful and meticulous about them.
> 
> anyways, I hope you like this chapter as much as I do!!

"When we go in make sure to take your shoes off. I don't believe my uncle is home, but if he's present, behave yourself," Sasuke warned Naruto as they stood on Sasuke's doorstep. Naruto stood a few steps down, nodding enthusiastically, which was pointless because Sasuke knew Naruto would ignore every rule the second they got inside. "Now repeat what I said."

"Shoes off and watch myself around your uncle, got it," Naruto eagerly responded, bouncing up and down. Sasuke sighed as he looked at him, not understanding how he was this excited.

It was Saturday, less than 24 hours after them meeting again for the first time. They had spent hours walking together before Sasuke told him he had to go back home before his uncle got home. They exchanged numbers and parted ways, although it was hard to actually do so. Sasuke lingered and hesitated as he did so, not wanting to leave Naruto's side.

"Is something the matter?" Naruto had asked him, frowning.

"Not really," Sasuke answered, trying to play it cool. It would be lame to be so clingy, after all. They couldn't just be all over each other the way that they had been when they were kids, so it was better to just play it off as being indifferent. However, even all these years later Naruto could still read Sasuke and his emotions without an issue.

"You're scared about not seeing me again, huh?" Naruto slowly grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets as he said so.

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm not scared-"

"Yeah you are, even if you won't admit it, and I know you're not going to admit it. Listen, man, you have my number, so even if I did run away right this second you could still track me down. Plus, I wouldn't have spent the past several hours together with you talking if I didn't want to spend time with you." Naruto tried reassuring him. "You're really just worrying about nothing, you know that right?"

"I know that," Sasuke bit out, still frustrated.

"Then stop it and just text me! You can text me every minute on the hour and I wouldn't care. I'd still read them all and respond to them all. Or you can call me if you like calling people, which I don't think you do but still," Naruto shrugged.

"I'm over it," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No, you aren't, and I know you aren't but guess what? I'm right here, dude." Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

"I said I'm over it," Sasuke said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. But they both knew it was just to hide the pain in his eyes. After all, when Naruto left... he hurt Sasuke in such an awful way, and although they were talking again Sasuke couldn't just ignore it and get over it.

Naruto wordlessly took a step closer, closing the gap between the two of them. His arms found their way to Sasuke's sides and embraced him tightly, his face burying itself in Sasuke's shoulders. "Stop it," Sasuke objected, trying to rip him off. He was in no way a physical person, even for Naruto.

"No," Naruto replied, hugging him even tighter. "You're stuck with me now, and you're not getting rid of me. Ever. Got it?"

Sasuke struggled for a bit longer but knew he wouldn't be able to rip him off, so instead slowly wrapped his arms loosely around Naruto, closing his eyes and breathing in his scent. The sun was setting as the two of them stood on the school's sidewalk, no one around to witness it.

And despite Sasuke hating hugs, he liked this one.

After they both went to their respective homes, even with Naruto's number in his phone Sasuke was still, in fact, nervous that he wouldn't see him again or talk to him again. It was irrational; they went to the same school, had each other's numbers, and would see each other by Monday at the latest. And yet he couldn't help but worry about it. They had been separated for so long and had so much to catch up and talk about and barely even got through anything with the few hours they had spent together. There were years of their lives they had to catch each other up on.

However, Sasuke didn't have to worry about not seeing Naruto for long.

When he initially got a phone call first thing at seven in the morning, he nearly hung up and went back to bed.

He had been passed out, trying to enjoy his Saturday morning by simply sleeping in. He didn't even have an alarm set and was planning to just wake up whenever he felt he slept enough. However, his ringer was still on and started to go off. Sasuke blinked awake, unsure of what was even going on. He had no idea who could be calling him seeing as how Itachi was in the room next to him, or at least he was most likely. Uncle Madara never really called, especially not that early in the morning. And his friends knew better to disturb him in any way, especially on the weekends.

Scratch that last statement. His friends knew better. His best friend had no boundaries, however.

"Sasuke! Are you awake?" Naruto yelled into the phone in his typical, overly loud manner. Sasuke rubbed his eyes as he squinted to see the time on his alarm clock. 7:42.

"What makes you think that I would be?" Sasuke slowly asked. If it had been anyone else, he would have hung up by then or put his phone on silent. But since it was Naruto, he was more lenient.

"You picked up, didn't you?"

"I was in the middle of sleeping."

Naruto paused. "Oh. I was going to ask if you wanted to go to hang out together."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes more before looking at the clock and confirming that it was, in fact, seven in the god damn morning. "And this was so pressing you had to call me now?"

"Well it's just that I was already awake and I thought you would get up early too," Naruto admitted. "But if you're sleeping then go back to sleep and we can just-"

"Time and place, dobe."

Sasuke found out that Naruto wasn't living all that far from Sasuke. It was a little under two miles away, so Naruto told him he'd just walk and see him in half an hour. Sasuke then threw himself out of bed, taking a shower and brushing his teeth. He took a look at his room, remembering how different it was before Naruto left. He wished that he still had his old consoles and all their old games, but they were long gone. Instead, they could find something else to do.

He decided to walk downstairs and wait outside for Naruto. He did not doubt that he remembered which house it was but just in case, he would sit outside on the front steps. After he dusted the steps off with his hand, he sat down and started scrolling through his phone. His friends had gone out the previous night without him and had lamented over the fact Sasuke turned them down. He scrolled through their messages before not responding and instead reading a few articles to pass the time.

It wasn't long before Naruto came running up, shouting, "Good morning, Sas!" as he did so. Sasuke quickly slipped his phone away and stood up, not willing to admit even a little bit how excited he was to see his best friend again. Today he was wearing some plain khaki joggers and a simple white t-shirt, in contrast to Sasuke's black pants and dark gray shirt. He also had his backpack on for some odd reason, but Sasuke didn't bother to ask why.

Now, Sasuke opened up the front door and watched as Naruto threw his shoes off in a rush and barged into the house. "Is Itachi home?" Naruto eagerly asked.

"You could just ask him yourself," Sasuke replied as he looked past Naruto to where Itachi was standing, a shocked look on his face.

Naruto whipped around and saw Itachi standing in the doorway to the living room. "Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed before running over and yanking him into a hug. Itachi, not exactly a hugger, still pulled Naruto in close. Naruto breathed him in, hugging him too tightly, but Itachi didn't complain. "It's so good to see you!"

"And the same goes to you," Itachi smiled as the two parted. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"So soon?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

Itachi looked over to Sasuke who was shooting him a death glare. "Sasuke mentioned he had seen you when school first started. I expected the two of you to eventually meet up, but this was sudden."

Naruto turned around to look at Sasuke. "You were talking about me with Itachi?"

"Well, I had just-"

"You, Sasuke, not only spent your time searching for me but also gossiping about me with Itachi? I was a dinner conversation? I wouldn't have pegged you as one to gossip but it has been a few years," Naruto teased, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he wore a smile that went from ear to ear.

"He did indeed. He was very upset." Itachi nodded, joining in and teasing Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before replying, "Well have fun the two of you, I'll just be up in my room whenever you want to do something."

"Actually I did want to talk to Naruto for a minute and catch up. I won't keep him long," Itachi promised as he smiled at Sasuke. Sasuke simply walked past the two and climbed the stairs to his room.

"Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about?" Naruto asked Itachi as soon as they heard Sasuke's door close. Itachi gestured for him to follow him, and the two walked over to the kitchen. Naruto sat down on one of the chairs as Itachi moved around the kitchen, starting to make tea.

"Well, yes. I would like to know how you're doing. It was hard for Sasuke after you left, but I know it wasn't necessarily your fault," Itachi responded with his back turned to Naruto. "Why you didn't reach out, though, has puzzled me."

"I told Sasuke it was just... hard. I didn't know if he would be upset with me and I was just too nervous to actually call him or stop by. I didn't know how he'd react so I just kinda avoided it altogether," Naruto responded. "But uh, I've been good! There's a lot to talk about and a lot that's happened the past couple years."

Itachi nodded. "I can imagine. You don't have to go into all the details now though."

There was a lull in the conversation as Itachi stood at the stove, getting out two cups and putting them on a tray. Naruto watched as he did this so carefully and meticulously, almost in a trance with the way he did things. Naruto and Itachi weren't as close as Naruto and Sasuke, but Itachi also felt like a close friend if not an older brother to Naruto as well. He felt comfortable around him and loved spending time with him even if neither of them were talking.

"There was one thing that I wanted to mention, however," Itachi told Naruto before turning around to meet his gaze. "As you know, Sasuke spent a while searching for you."

"Yeah, that school is massive! I'm still surprised that he was able to find me," Naruto admitted.

"So I've heard. I haven't gotten the chance to see it in person yet. What I wanted to tell you though was that after the first day Sasuke found you, he was extremely distraught. He gave it his all trying to find you. He stayed after school in the parking lot or would look for you during lunch, and the day of the assembly tried staying back so when you walked out he could talk to you."

"Itachi, why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows raised.

Itachi sighed before telling him, "Because I need you to understand how much Sasuke missed you. He lost you so suddenly without an explanation, so to see you again after all of these years was..." Itachi trailed off before continuing, "I just want to make sure you're aware of how much he cares about you because you and I both know he won't admit it and will try and hide it. I would hate for anything to happen between the two of you after all of this time. Just try and appreciate your time with him, and cherish him as a friend." Itachi smiled at him before taking the kettle off the stove and pouring two cups of tea. He gestured for Naruto to take the tray upstairs with him and told him to have a good day before he headed out for work.

Naruto carefully picked up the tray and slowly walked up the stairs, nervous about spilling it all. "Sas, can you get the door?" he called out.

"Do your hands no longer work?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes before responding, "Or they're full, asshole,"

Sasuke opened the door and let Naruto in before shutting it again. He walked back over to his bed and sat down, telling Naruto, "You can place the tea on my desk."

Naruto did as he was told before taking a look around. "This doesn't even look like the same room, Sas," he said as he took a look at everything. His eyes kept darting all over the place, unsure of what to actually take in.

"Yeah, well it's been a while."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you can say that again." His eyes wandered over to the TV, grinning. "So I wasn't sure if you had anything to play, so I decided to bring over my games. That's cool, right?"

"Do you need help setting it up?"

"Nah, it's not too complicated," Naruto responded as he unzipped his backpack, taking out his console and everything that came with it. "So, what do you want to play?"

* * *

Playing video games with Naruto again felt like such a nostalgic thing that Sasuke had to wonder if he was really a senior in high school, or a kid again.

Sure, they were half a decade older and way bigger and had matured to an extent. But just sitting on the bed with a controller in their hands felt so natural. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a weird warmth coming from his chest and radiating throughout his body. He almost felt electric, which was unheard of for him.

There was a quiet ping noise, followed by another. "...Who's texting you?" Naruto asked as Sasuke's phone went off, again, for the third time in a row. "Is it Itachi or Uncle Madara?"

"Just my friends from school," Sasuke replied, not bothering to actually check his phone. Each of his friends had a particular text tone so he would always know who was texting, and at that moment it was Karin and Suigetsu. He never really responded to them unless it was necessary, which wasn't often. They tended to ramble on about nothing and were just generally somewhat obnoxious. Or rather, Karin and Suigetsu were. Juugo never said much either.

Naruto looked puzzled. "Well, aren't you going to answer them...?"

"Do you want me to?"

"It's just, you know, they're probably texting you for a reason."

Naruto paused the game as Sasuke picked up his phone and saw they were talking in the group chat. "They're asking if I want to go grab lunch with them," he told Naruto. "They're upset that I didn't want to go out with them last night."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, an uneasy tone in his voice when he finally did speak. "Did you want to...?"

"I'd rather play this with you."

Naruto looked over, biting his lip. "You know... it's okay if you wanna go," he told Sasuke.

"Why would I want to?" Sasuke asked.

"They're your friends, dude! I dunno," Naruto shrugged. "Wouldn't you wanna spend time with them...? Plus, they're already upset that you didn't hang out with them last night."

"I'm spending time with a friend right now," Sasuke retorted. "It would be rude to you if you had come all the way over here only for me to leave so soon to hang out with people I've seen every day for years now." He was quiet for a moment and knew Naruto wouldn't leave this alone. "You can come with us to get lunch if you want."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude on you guys-" Naruto began, but Sasuke was already in the process of texting his group chat.

"Pick me up for lunch if you three are planning on going. Also, bringing a friend." Sasuke sent, only to immediately have his phone blow up.

"friend? we're your only three friends!!!" Karin sent back. "who is this friend???"

"srsly dude wtf" Suigetsu replied with an eye emoji. "sounds super sus"

"Okay. I'll pick everyone up around noon." Juugo texted back, unfazed by this sudden revelation.

Sasuke locked his phone and pushed it to the side, picking up his controller again. "So the verdict?" Naruto asked, still somewhat nervous and wary.

"We're going at noon. My friend Juugo is going to be picking us up then, so I'm going to win one more round and then we'll head downstairs." Sasuke replied.

"Excuse you!" Naruto gasped dramatically. "I'm gonna wreck your shit, asshole!"

"Is that so?"

"Just fucking watch, you arrogant prick!" Naruto laughed, grabbing his controller once more and pressing Resume, settling back into the game with Sasuke.


End file.
